The Perfect Pantry

Arrowroot, and two cookie recipes

What's the best thing about blogging?

After a lifetime as a professional writer and editor, I can answer without hesitation. Reaching and interacting with a new audience of smart, funny, interesting readers all around the world. Learning from those smart, funny, interesting readers.

And being able to correct mistakes pointed out to me by those smart, funny, interesting readers.

I remember how I felt when, at age 16, I saw my first byline in a real not-my-high-school newspaper. Joy! Rapture!

And then, I saw it. A typographical error. A typo.

Darn. I had proofed the original -- an obituary, only two or three paragraphs long -- a dozen times. No typo, yet there it was in print, irrevocable, for ever and ever, under my very first byline. I was crushed.

Since then, of course there have been many errors, and, like the first ding I put in the bumper of my dad's car, I've learned to own up to the mistakes I make and to live with those that appear in print, uninvited and unloved, under my name.

In The Perfect Pantry (oh, joy of blogging!) I can and do fix mistakes. I can, and do, add and improve, too.

In a previous post about arrowroot (also called arrowroot starch or flour), I wrote about the origins and benefits of using arrowroot instead of cornstarch. I forgot to mention that arrowroot gives a better sheen to sauces, and that sauces thickened with arrowroot will freeze better than those thickened with other starches. And I learned from a reader that because arrowroot is not a leavening agent, it can be used in cooking and baking for Passover.

Other People's Pantries #9

From Sandi (Whistlestop Cafe Cooking), in Birmingham, Alabama:

Bill would be the first to tell you that I am not organized. I think I am ~ just in my own way!

On Saturdays, we peek into Other People's Pantries.

Come on -- show us your pantry.

Here's how.

White vinegar and volcanoes (Recipe: pineapple-cucumber salad)

Once upon a time -- okay, it was just a few weeks ago -- I found five (five) bottles of distilled white vinegar in my pantry.

I'm not a pickle fanatic.

I'm not a brine fanatic.

I'm most definitely not a window-cleaning fanatic.

I used to be able to keep inventory in my head of everything that I had in the pantry. For a few months, I kept forgetting that I have vinegar, and every time I passed it in the supermarket aisle, I'd buy more. And more. And more.

If you are not old, you might not recognize this for what it is: a cautionary tale, a heads-up, a peek into your future. When you are old like me, you will, I promise, develop a mental block against some item in your pantry, and you will buy it even when it is not on your grocery list. And each time, you'll place it on the shelf, next to the one you bought the week before. You'll mutter to yourself, oh phoo, I already have this.

Phyllo shells (Recipe: one-bite vegetable quiche)

Does your house sometimes feel like a bed-and-breakfast inn, with a steady stream of guests coming and going?

When you live in a log house in the woods, with a great kitchen and a fireplace and a big screened porch and indoor plumbing, you get plenty of company. (Yes, people ask. Do we need sleeping bags? Do you have towels? Should we bring flashlights? I remind them that, even out here in the woods, we have a dishwasher and DSL.)

If you're me, you love having people come to visit. Of course, if you're me, you don't bake, so you're always on the lookout for ingredients to keep in the pantry for easy entertaining.

When it comes to pastry, I'm all thumbs. Forget making it from scratch; even a store-bought pie dough becomes silly putty in my hands. However, a bit of pastry can dress up almost anything, from scrambled eggs to hummus to leftover Chinese food, so I stash a few boxes of phyllo shells in the freezer.

Cinnamon (Recipe: Mexican-spiced fish)

I like a spice that swings both ways.

Cinnamon, for example.

It can go sweet, or savory. Hot or cool. Mild, or with a bit of a bite.

At the moment I have two types of ground cinnamon, plus Indonesian cinnamon sticks from Penzeys, in The Perfect Pantry. I'm not a cinnamon snob; I'm just one lucky cook.

Other People's Pantries #8

From Tanna (My Kitchen in Half Cups), in Dallas, Texas:

I love being able to go in my pantry and close the door. It's quiet. It keeps noise in or out. I grind my coffee in there and keep the coffee pot in there at the moment. When we first moved into this house, the pantry was spacious. Of late I'm noticing things getting crowded. Time for a general clean out. Wonder what I'll find I've hidden away that's made its way into the deep corners. (For more photos and notes about my pantry, see this post.)

On Saturdays, we peek into Other People's Pantries.

Come on -- show us your pantry.

Here's how.

Eggs (Recipe: asparagus frittata)

For much of the year, within a mile or two in any direction from my house, you'll find a farm selling fresh eggs.

Last summer Ted stopped at a farm up the road from us, to photograph this sign that surely gave passers-by something to think about. Five flavors of eggs? Intriguing! But no, it was the goat cheese that came in five flavors. And no, the eggs weren't in that cooler; they were in the house, properly stored in the refrigerator.

Every culture that has chickens eats eggs, and thanks to Christopher Columbus, who brought some hens with him on his second voyage in 1493, that includes those of us in the United States.

Cornmeal (Recipe: polenta dome)

'Tis the season for political battles, and here in Rhode Island, the battle rages on.

It's not political.

Well, it is political, but it's not Democrat-Republican, count-the-delegates political.

It's a battle for the one true jonnycake  -- our signature cornmeal pancake -- and here in the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, we take this battle seriously.

Jonnycakes (a.k.a. johnnycakes. See? We can't even agree on the spelling.) can be thick or thin, made with water or milk, depending on whether you're in the East Bay area around Newport, or west of the bay, in South County.

Demerara sugar (Recipe: cherry pistachio cookies)

How do you know when you're losing your grip?

You find five -- five -- bottles of vinegar in the pantry. Five bottles identical in size, shape and color. You can't remember the last time you used vinegar for anything except pickles, yet you keep buying more.

At the same time, you find none -- zero, zip, nada -- of your favorite chili paste with garlic.

And then you find demerara sugar.

You have no idea when this sugar arrived, or by what mode of transport, yet it looks quite at home, having graduated from temporary housing (bag or box) to permanent accommodation (recycled grated cheese jar... hmmmm, where did that come from? You really are losing your grip.).

You just have one question. Well, two questions:

What is it, and what can I do with it?

Other People's Pantries #7

From Mary (From the Heart of Texas), in Frankton, Texas:

I just recently built a new house and in designing it, started with the pantry. Here are photos of the pantry and my spice rack.

On Saturdays, we peek into Other People's Pantries.

Come on -- show us your pantry.

Here's how.